Dr Lars Goerigk

Lars Goerigk is a senior lecturer at the School of Chemistry at The University of Melbourne. In 2011, he obtained his PhD in the group of Prof. Stefan Grimme at the University of Muenster, Germany. He relocated to The University of Sydney on a postdoctoral scholarship funded by the Germany Academy of Sciences “Leopoldina”, where he worked in the group of Prof. Jeffrey R. Reimers and also established a successful collaboration with Prof. Leo Radom. In 2014, Lars joined the School of Chemistry at The University of Melbourne as an ARC DECRA Fellow, where in 2016 he transitioned to a continuing role. In 2021, he became an Exciton Science Associate Investigator.

Lars’ area of expertise is Theoretical and Computational Quantum Chemistry with special emphasis on density functional theory (DFT) method development, the treatment of electronic excited states, and applications to bio-, inorganic- and organic-chemical problems. He has made decisive contributions towards the development of some of the most accurate density functionals for the treatment of electronic excited states.  His work also contributed towards a better understanding of the role of London-dispersion (van-der-Waals forces) in chemical reactions and molecular structures. One of his research passions is to close the gap between method developers and method users by promoting a better understanding of DFT methods, of what they can and — more importantly — of what they cannot achieve.

Lars' work has been acknowledged with several awards, including the 2017 RACI Physical Chemistry Division Lectureship, the 2018 Dean's Award for Excellence in Research (Early Career), a 2019 Le Fèvre Medal by the Australian Academy of Science, and a 2020 Rennie Memorial Medal by the RACI.